A Sign to Behold – Part 3

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/…

This is also the central promise of scripture. The promise on which all else stands or falls. Very often God tied the promise of the Messiah to other promises. Gen. 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor the law-giver from between his feet until shiloh comes and to him shall be the obedience of the people.” God had vested the promise of the Messiah with David’s royal line so when Pekah and Rezin plotted to overthrow God’s anointed and put up their own puppet king, they were plotting against God’s plan to save. God’s response was certain, “It shall not stand and it shall not come to pass.” The sign of Immanuel was the perfect sign for Ahaz because He should have known that God’s promise to send a Savior meant that all his other promises would be true as well. So should we. But how easily do we sometimes forget this. When faced with the difficulties of this life we very well might say “What good does the virgin-birth do me now?” “What am I supposed to do with that?” But Isaiah would remind us to stop and marvel at Immanuel, the sign to behold for every situation. It is in Jesus’ birth and mission that all of God’s promises and plans are centered. For example – if you, like many these days, are facing financial difficulty – behind on school bills, trying to get out of debt or fend off bill-collectors, perhaps even struggling to put food on the table – what is your reaction? Where do you turn first? Bank accounts? Family members? More hours of work? Do you run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, stressing out and worrying, shaking like a tree before the wind? Why? “Behold, the virgin pregnant and bearing a son and she shall call his name Immanuel!” Stop and marvel. Because of Jesus you can be firm no matter what difficulty you are facing. First of all, he is the one who through His life with us and death for us has given you all the treasures of heaven. What if you hunger now? You will be filled in heaven! He is the one who has promised to clothe you as the lillies and provide your daily bread! Do you need any proof that He keeps His promises? Behold Immanuel! In Jesus, all of God’s promises are answered, all of our needs are met. It is because of Jesus that God is working tirelessly with your best interests at heart. Through the God-Man, you and I are reconciled to God. We are His own children. What He has promised He will deliver. There is no need to shake. Behold the virgin born – the central sign of all scripture, of time and eternity, that stands to give us confidence. Behold Immanuel – and shake no more.